US tech giants object to UK spying plans

Major global technology and telecommunications companies, from Microsoft to Google to Vodafone, have outlined their objections to a proposed UK law that they say would let British intelligence agencies engage in mass surveillance and force them to give the government access to encrypted communication.

The objections were contained in written evidence submitted by the companies to a UK Parliamentary committee considering the draft legislation. The newly released comments echoed written evidence already published by some individual companies, including Apple Inc.

The proposed UK law, known as the Investigatory Powers Bill, would undermine customers' trust in their products and brands, according to Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo, which made a joint submission to Parliament - a rare show of unity among rivals. Opposition has also come from privacy-rights groups that have tussled with tech companies in the past over their own handling of users' personal data. The five US tech companies expressed concerns that the law would impose requirements at odds with laws elsewhere.